BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Harvard Law School//NONSGML Events//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN X-WR-CALNAME:Harvard Law School - Events X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://hls.harvard.edu/calendar/ X-WR-CALDESC:Harvard Law School - Events BEGIN:VEVENT UID:20250416T0044Z-1744764269.6076-EO-700480-1@10.73.10.94 STATUS:CONFIRMED DTSTAMP:20260525T075730Z CREATED:20250415T132734Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250417T142007Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250422T121500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250422T131500 SUMMARY: “Gendering the Eunuch: Talmudic Discourse and Trans/Queer Temporal ities” Jay Michaelson DESCRIPTION: Gendering the Eunuch: Talmudic Discourse and Trans/Queer Tempo ralities Jay Michaelson Caroline Zelaznik Gruss and Joseph S. Gruss Visitin g Professor in Talmudic Civil Law Moderated by Noah Feldman\, Director\, Ju lis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law Contrary to some recent cl aims\, there are ample records of gender non-conformity — and individuals w ho might today be classified […] X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

Gendering the Eunuch:
Talmudic Discou rse and Trans/Queer Temporalities
Jay Michaelson
Caroline Zelazni k Gruss and Joseph S. Gruss
Visiting Professor in Talmudic Civil LawModerated by
Noah Feldman\, Director\, Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law
Contrary to some recent claims\, there are amp le records of gender non-conformity -- and individuals who might today be c lassified as transgender -- throughout history. While it would be inaccura te to project present-day categories onto past gendered realities\, the rec ords of these non-normative identities refute claims that gender is identic al to sex\; that the categories of male and female are exhaustive and unive rsal\; and that religious traditions\, in particular\, are unaware of devia tions from gender norms.
Talmudic discourse of the saris\, usually tra nslated as “eunuch\,” is one such record. Building on (and diverging from) the pioneering work of Max Strassfeld\, this presentation explores the sali ent features of the saris that might inform contemporary contestations of g ender. As Strassfeld notes\, the Talmudic rabbis are not "affirming" in a contemporary sense. Yet the visibility\, agency\, and personality of these gender-nonconforming persons in the context of Talmudic law demonstrates t hat forms of gender non-conformity exist throughout history\, along with co ncerted efforts to repress them.

LOCATION:Hauser Hall\; 104 Lumbard Classroom GEO:0;0 ORGANIZER;CN="API User":MAILTO:api@law.harvard.edu URL;VALUE=URI:https://hls.harvard.edu/events/gendering-the-eunuch-talmudic- discourse-and-trans-queer-temporalities-jay-michaelson/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 DTSTART:20250309T070000 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR